Convicted Murderer Sentenced to 35 Years for Running Drug Empire From Georgia Prison
ATLANTA — A federal judge has sentenced a convicted murderer to 35 years in prison for orchestrating a large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering operation while incarcerated in a Georgia state prison.
According to , 47-year-old Jarvis Matthews of Atlanta was sentenced April 21, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty after a jury found him guilty in October 2025.
Matthews was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl, five counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors said Matthews ran the operation from inside Calhoun State Prison using contraband cell phones, directing associates on the outside to distribute drugs and handle money.
“This convicted murderer brazenly used contraband cell phones behind prison bars to distribute millions of dollars of illegal drugs in our community and launder drug money for criminal cartels,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
Authorities said Matthews coordinated drug distribution at multiple locations in Atlanta’s Cleveland Avenue area and relied on family members and associates, including his fiancée, girlfriends, sons and nephew, to carry out the operation.
Investigators determined Matthews was responsible for distributing hundreds of kilograms of drugs and laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars, including proceeds tied to suppliers in Colombia and California.
The investigation began in early 2022 after FBI agents identified a social media account used by Matthews to facilitate drug deals. Agents later conducted controlled purchases, obtained wiretaps and carried out surveillance that led to multiple arrests.
At the time of the federal offenses, Matthews was already serving life sentences with the possibility of parole for murder and felony murder convictions related to fatal shootings in Atlanta in 2001 and 2002.
Judge Geraghty ordered that the 35-year federal sentence run consecutively to his existing state sentences.
Several co-defendants in the case have already been sentenced, including:
- Charvis Harris, 22, sentenced to eight years and nine months
- Javaris Dasan Mathews, 24, sentenced to six years
- Alvin Edwards, 53, sentenced to five years and eight months
- Miriam Modesti, 53, sentenced to three years and four months
- Shabreya Brown, 33, sentenced to three years probation
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from multiple federal, state and local agencies.
